Supernatural Proust: Myth and Metaphor in A La Recherche du Temps Perdu

Margaret TOPPING, Supernatural Proust: Myth and Metaphor in A La Recherche du Temps Perdu, Chicago, University of Chicago Press. 2007, 224 p.
ISBN 978-0-7083-1866-9
ISBN-10 0-7083-1866-5


SUMMARY

A monumental exploration of memory, love, sexuality, social relations, and the creative process, Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu builds a complex world that is rich in religious and mythical imagery. In Supernatural Proust, Margaret Topping analyzes how Proust drew from areas outside of the usual Christian and classical canons, including fairytales, folklore, astrology, and Celtic and Eastern religions. The first book to examine this aspect of Proust’s work, Supernatural Proust also considers the author’s manuscripts, correspondence, and early writing in order to fully evaluate the significance of this network of images.


CONTENTS

Introduction 

An introduction to Proust's Transformation of Religious and Mythical Sources

Distribution Tables

Theories of Metaphor

Chapter 1:  Magic and Fairytale

Fairy Queens and Wicked Witches

Society and Metamorphosis

Ali-Baba and les invertis

Artists and Alchemists

Time's Flying Armchair

Chapter 2:  Legend and Folklore

Superstition and Talismans

Pirates and Adventures

Medieval Romances

Fables and Morality

Chapter 3:  Spiritualism and Astrology

Astral Projections

Desting and the Planets

Love and the Stars

Spiritualism and Transcendence

Chapter 4:  Celtic and Eastern Religions

Society and Structure

Reincarnation and Memory

Nirvana and Art

Religious Travesties

Paganism, Nature and the jeunes flies